Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) Shares Bought by Trexquant Investment LP

Trexquant Investment LP raised its stake in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) by 144.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 139,144 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 82,192 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP owned approximately 0.19% of Southwest Gas worth $9,839,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,650 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,177,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 8,979 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $635,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 937 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 15,766 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,115,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clear Creek Financial Management LLC grew its position in Southwest Gas by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 3,427 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $242,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the period. 92.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Southwest Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Southwest Gas in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $73.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Gas in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of Southwest Gas stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.60, for a total value of $156,660,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,532,604 shares in the company, valued at $561,932,258.40. The trade was a 21.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Gas Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of SWX opened at $73.27 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.26 billion, a PE ratio of 29.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.37. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $74.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.10. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $64.31 and a 1 year high of $80.29.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.35 billion. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 5.99%. Analysts forecast that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.18%.

Southwest Gas Company Profile

Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiaries, distributes and transports natural gas in Arizona, Nevada, and California. The company operates through Natural Gas Distribution, Utility Infrastructure Services, and Pipeline and Storage segments. It also provides trenching, installation, and replacement of underground pipes, as well as maintenance services for energy distribution systems.